The Globalization of Nothing

Book Description

" The Globalization of Nothing is one of the most original analyses of forces operating in the world today. Ritzer presents a new thesis—indeed a grand narrative-- on the dynamics of globalizaton. The production and distribution of "nothing" or social formations that are centrally conceived, controlled and comparatively devoid of distinctive content represents a new way to address many of the issues raised by postmodern theory (without all of the jargon and anti-science rhetoric) and world systems theory (without the hoped for collapse of capitalism). It is critical but not shrill. It forces the reader to look at the contemporary work in a new way. The book is highly readable and engaging. It has something to say to the scholar, student, and layperson."

--Jonathan Turner, University of California, Riverside

" The Globalization of Nothing is a brilliant essay that develops revolutionary ideas based on sharp, penetrating observations. This book is truly the product of a "sociological eye." I do no exaggerate when I use the term "revolutionary." The author presents a phenomenon--or set of phenomena--that stretch sociology's phenomenological field. . . . After you become aware of nothing, you need to rethink the world and the way you look at it."

--Heran Vera, University of Florida, Gainesville

"The book makes a clear, interesting, and compelling argument and it certainly contributes to our understanding of modern culture and society."

--Celestino Fernández, University of Arizona

"The author does an excellent job in describing and explaining nothing, something, grobalization, glocalization, globalization, and their interrelations. Examples are drawn closely from life. They are touchable and powerfully illustrative. The discussion flows well and the text is highly readable."

--Victor N. Shaw, California State University Northridge

"The book will make a valuable contribution to literature. . . . This book continues the trajectory of McDonalization by providing a more sophisticated analytical frame to interpret globalization."

--Douglas H. Constance, Sam Houston State University

"The book’s strength is that it takes a look at the big picture and is not timid in developing a case for the nothing/something continuum and the increasing globalization of nothing. We have an insufficient number of books in sociology that take on big agendas."

--Steve Zehr, University of Southern Indiana

In a world increasingly festooned with familiar logos – from the hallmark swoosh on a designer tennis shoe to an amusement park’s infamous mouse ears – it is clear that these symbols are not merely decorative, but represent important changes in our social milieu. The proliferation of credit card offers, automated banking services, and globally recognizable brand names illustrate significant changes in the realm of social consumption: a trajectory toward a world of increasingly dehumanized services and empty places and things.

George Ritzer theorizes in his provocative new book, The Globalization of Nothing, that the "grand narrative" or social story of this period is a movement from "something" to "nothing." Building on but going beyond his renowned McDonaldization thesis, Ritzer contends that societies around the globe continue to move away from "something," defined as a social form that is generally indigenously conceived, locally controlled, and rich in distinctive content. He argues that we are moving toward "nothing" – that which is centrally controlled and conceived and relatively devoid of distinctive substance. It is in the movement toward the globalization of "nothing" that "something" is lost. More than likely, that "something" is an indigenous custom, a local store, a familiar gathering place, or simply personalized interaction. Thus, the central problem in the world today is defined as "loss amidst monumental abundance (of nothing)."

The Globalization of Nothing takes the subject of globalization in new directions, introducing terms such as "grobalization" (the growing influence of, for example, American corporations throughout the world). The key conflict in the world today is viewed as that between the grobalization of nothing and the glocalization of something. This book is structured around four sets of concepts addressing this issue: "places/non-places," "things/non-things," "people/non-people," and "services/non-services." By drawing upon salient examples from everyday life, George Ritzer invites the reader to examine the nuances of these concepts in conjunction with the paradoxes within the process of the globalization of nothing. Why is it that those who produce "nothing" for major multinational corporations often cannot afford that which they produce? Why do so many of us seem to be enraptured with our favorite brands or with our credit cards? What are the social implications of the increasing "globalization of nothing" for medicine, education, and tourism? Critical questions are raised throughout the book and the reader is compelled not only to seek answers to these questions, but to critically evaluate the questions as well as their answers.

The Globalization of Nothing is ideal as a primary or supplemental text for courses in sociology, anthropology, communication, business, and related disciplines. This book is also recommended for anyone interested in the critical study of contemporary social phenomena.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing or junk?.......2007-07-30

Ritzer's heart is in the right place. As a critique of globalization and the destruction it causes, his book offers powerful insights. But Ritzer cannot resist the cliche and the clever clever rhetorical device that undermine his case. Worse - his narcissistic delight with using words in a manner meant to shock. In this book the word 'nothing' is asked to work beyond what the English language allows it to do. The emperor is unfortunately wearing far from nothing. He is well-clad, and sets the trends for others to follow. Globalization is destroying local traditions, lifestyles, practices and habits, not because it trades in nothing, but because it trades in seriously harmful junk.

Ritzer's Best, by far.......2004-05-07

This is a thoughtful, rich, critical, engaging analysis. I was pleasantly surprised. I had major problems with his famous McDonalization of Society -- I thought it was pretty thin, extremely redundant, and gave short-shrift to the profit motive. Furthermore, Ritzer kept re-packing the same ideas in various publications. I was jealous of all the money he was making, but not impressed in terms of scholarly innovation. When I saw this book, I thought: oh, no, here we go again: slick title, slick cover....another money maker for Ritzer and shallow analysis for us. WRONG. Even picking this book up with enormous skepticism, I was totally engaged. This is great stuff. He not only explains his observations carefully, but his analysis of WHY the trend under scrunity is happening is solid. And he gives credit where credit is due -- to Marx, in this case. Good for Ritzer.
Ritzer's argument is that products, places, and services that are locally constructed, locally controlled, and full of distinct and special qualities are vanishing. What are proliferating and ever-increasing are products, places, and services that are centrally constructed, centrally controlled, and lacking distinct or special qualities. But he goes beyond this observation and really tries to EXAPLIN it. His critiques of the profit-motive are strong and right on the mark. Sure, there were many things I disagreed with in this book, and things I would take exception to. But ultimately this was solid scholarship, piercing and profound social theory, and a great leap forward for one of sociology's most productive scholars.

A philosophical and clarion warning.......2003-12-12

The Globalization Of Nothing is an articulate economic thesis by Professor George Ritzer (University of Maryland) that articulately postulates the short and long-term effects of globalization. Claiming that societies worldwide are moving away from "something" (defined as unique and distinctive indigenous social forms), toward the "nothing" (globalized products that are centrally controlled and blandly the same worldwide), The Globalization Of Nothing warns that societies all over the world today are rapidly losing unique customs, local businesses, gathering places, even the hallmark of personal interaction. The Globalization Of Nothing is a philosophical and clarion warning regarding the creeping and homogenizing impersonality of severe economic forces.

KNOW-NOTHINGS AND KNOW-IT-ALLS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE HYPE ABOUT GLOBALIZATION.(protesters and media consume and spread misinformation about globalization, ... Essay): An article from: Dollars & Sense

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KNOW-NOTHINGS AND KNOW-IT-ALLS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE HYPE ABOUT GLOBALIZATION.(protesters and media consume and spread misinformation about globalization, ... Essay): An article from: Dollars & Sense
Jessica Collins , and John Miller
Manufacturer: Economic Affairs Bureau
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Dollars & Sense, published by Economic Affairs Bureau on September 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1657 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: KNOW-NOTHINGS AND KNOW-IT-ALLS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE HYPE ABOUT GLOBALIZATION.(protesters and media consume and spread misinformation about globalization, but scholarly studies also are undermined by problematic assumptions)(Critical Essay)
Author: Jessica Collins
Publication: Dollars & Sense (Newsletter)
Date: September 1, 2000
Publisher: Economic Affairs Bureau
Page: 41

Article Type: Critical Essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Training for Managers and Executives: The Service Pro--Service Leadership
Rick Tate , and Josh Stroup
Manufacturer: HRD Press, inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0874257352

Book Description

Your leaders should attend this program just before or after they have participated in The Service Pro: Better, Faster, and Different training program. It presents proven strategies and techniques to motivate employees and lead an organization that is truly focused on customers and providing outstanding customer service. Leaders will learn how to: .Define reality with customer information, listening stategies, and measurements .Align the system and remove barriers to service success .Level the playing field with performance boundaries, accoutability and recognition. The Service Pro: Service Leadership package includes a Facilitators Guide which contains step-by-step instructions for a one-day training program: .PowerPoint presentation .5 Leader Workbooks .5 Copies of The Service Pro book.

Book Description

Addressing the numerous gaps in current information, Target Organ Toxicology in Marine and Freshwater Teleosts is an essential resource for researchers and professionals in aquatic toxicology and environmental risk assessment. All the chapters are written by researchers who are internationally recognised for their work in mechanistic aspects of aquatic toxicology. Each chapter focuses on a specific target organ or physiological system and describes how various agents disrupt the normal physiological system and processes. This volume is devoted to specific organs with coverage of the gill, kidney, skin, liver and gut. The companion volume, Systems, provides coverage of toxic effects in the central nervous, immune, neurobehavioural and reproductive systems as well as describing general mechanisms of toxicity.

Target Organ Toxicity in Marine and Freshwater Teleosts. Volume 1 - O

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Target Organ Toxicity in Marine and Freshwater Teleosts. Volume 1 - O
Daniel Schlenk
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M4OLNQ

Book Description

This volume contains 102 papers from the IAG Scientific Assembly, held on the premises of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest from 2nd to 7th September, 2001. These assemblies are designed to give an integrated view of geodetic activities to a broad spectrum of researchers and practitioners in geodesy and geophysics. At this meeting, which emphasized new vistas, a total of 380 papers were presented; 100 were selected for review and publication in this volume. They are representative of this meeting in the sense that they present current research areas in geodesy to the interested geophysicist and new research challenges to the geodetic specialist.

Earth Rotation and Coordinate Reference Frames (International Association of Geodesy Symposia, Symposium 105)

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Earth Rotation and Coordinate Reference Frames (International Association of Geodesy Symposia, Symposium 105)
Claude Boucher
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Geophysics | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Metaphor.......2000-05-01

I thoroughly enjoyed my first reading of this book and feel certain that I will re read it many times. The theme seems to me to be a quest for truth in our relationship with the world around us. The author uses quotations from various sources which are inspiring and appropriate. He also offers outlines for use in our personal meditations. I recommend the book to anyone who is or wants to be in tune with nature and who relishes quiet meditation in the presence of God's creation. It is a "workbook" for the spirit.

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A Must For Fan Of Thoroughbred Racing

The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac: 2006 (Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac)
Thoroughbred Times
Manufacturer: BowTie Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gambling | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Almanacs | Almanacs & Yearbooks | Reference | Subjects | Books
Equestrian | Horses | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
Racing | Horses | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1931993653

Book Description

Highlights include great names in racing, past champions, and profiles of all Racing Hall of Fame members. Plus new for 2006 are section on: Famous Dispersals; Horse Rescue Organizations; Famous Old Horses; Progression of North American track Records; Leading Sires by Stakes Winners and Millionaires; Foreign Horses in the Derby; Graded Stakes Histories to 1973; and, Chronology of World's Richest Races.

Customer Reviews:

A Must For Fan Of Thoroughbred Racing.......2006-10-02

The almanac has been published and updated for several years by Thoroughbred Times magazine.

It is an absolute must for a fan of Thoroughbred racing, as it covers the sport from the major races, to the personalities and the legendary runners. What I find particularly interesting is the history of the tracks and wonder why such historic facilities like Hialeah Park are left to decay.

You will spend hours going through the fascinating details of the sport and certainly come up with more than a few trivia questions that will stump your pals as you watch the post-parade for the race that has that live longshot.

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Excellent addition to the library

Written by the greatest stock trader of all time

Read How I Made 2 MIllion First

a great continuation from 2,000,000

A bona fide Wall Street classic!

Wall Street The Other Las Vegas: The Other Las Vegas
Nicolas Darvas
Manufacturer: Lyle Stuart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Futures | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0818403985

Customer Reviews:

Excellent addition to the library.......2007-10-16

An excellent book for the beginning trader because it does away with the misleading ideas about the marketplace that most beginning traders fall victim to. I wish I had read this book prior to my first trades because if I had, I probably wouldn't have gone through all the "fundamentals" nonsense and other hype that doesn't mean squat in terms of making money.

A good book to accompany Darvas first book.

Written by the greatest stock trader of all time.......2007-09-09

I spent $150 on this book with no regrets. After reading over 70 books on stock trading and studying the greatest stock traders of all timen in my opinion Nicolas Darvas is the greatest stock trader who ever lived. No one that I am aware of ever made so much money in such a short amount of time with such a small starting point. Darvas started with a few $2,000 in stock, his 1st stock quadrupled in a few months. With in a few years of trial and error he had turned $8,000 into $100,000 then finished out his final 18 months turning that into $2.4 million dollars. He then removed his money from the market due to no stocks meeting his criteria and avoided the bear market of the early 60's. On his journey he never lost any of his own money, only losing previous winnings.
I love this book and his previous one because he gives specifics, with dates and amounts of stocks he purchased and when he sold. His books are text books for stock traders. In this book he discusses how brokers and tip services make money off each generation of suckers in Wall Street and how to keep from being ripped off. I agree with his point that if your broker or the tip service were so great they would be following their own advice and making a killing in the market instead of working and selling you services and information for a few dollars. It is very important to be very careful in the Wall Street casino and not getted ripped off.
This book goes into much more detail than his other book and explains exactly how to use his techno-fundamentalist system.

His method of stock investment:
TECHNICAL-
Only buy stocks that have established solid price boxes and have moved through them consistently.

Buy stocks that move into higher boxes on increased volume.

Only buy stocks breaking into all time new highs after coming out of a previous solid price box.

Set on stop buy orders to enable you to buy the stock as it breaks out of the box into the next one. This is where the big moves happen.

FUNDAMENTAL-
Trade stocks based on there capitalation. This will determine proper volume and price movement due to number of outstanding shares.

Buy stocks in strong industry groups.

Buy stocks that have the greatest expectations of future earnings.

Even though this book has not been recommended by Willim O'Neal it is an excellent companion book for followers of the CAN SLIM method of stock trading. Darvas encourages us to bet on the fastest horse with the best record not to worry so much about the kind of hay it eats or spectators opinions. I have made $1,000's of dollars using these methods and you will to. This book is a jewel in the ocean of stock trading books.

Read How I Made 2 MIllion First.......2004-11-06

This book is no way near as good as the first. It is mostly the same material told in a less engaging way. He uses the metaphor of Wall Street as Roulette Game in a Casino which cheats it's clients. If you like Darvas's first book it is certainly worth reading to gain little insights on his method which youdon't get in the first. There a few new anecdotes and a chapter which explains his method but on the whole the book is not as amusing a read and lacks the freshness of the first, nor do I think it takes his story much farther than where the last ends. I would love to know what happened to Darvas in the late sixties and early seventies but not in this book.

a great continuation from 2,000,000.......2004-08-28

This book continues from where How I Made 2,000,000 left off. Nicolas refreshes the reader on his sound methods with his box theory and stop-loss. What i liked alot about this is book is how he actually draws in a great comparison on how Wall Street is much like Las Vegas! (Go figure)... Darvas gives us the realities to investing; its gambling! But dont worry, you can learn to clean the house in no time with the help of this book. Accept the facts, trust your instinct and gamble with confidence baby! But other then the gambling aspect, Nicolas repeats himself frequently throughout the book, which is the only downside. I would definetely recommend this book to anyone interested in what Wall Street really is!

A bona fide Wall Street classic!.......2004-06-15

Nicolas Darvas was both an excellent trader and writer. This book presents a clear exposition of his successful, break-out trading method. It shows how he was able to ride the winners by using his nested "box" system. Further, it shows how he used "techno-fundamental" screening to select only those issues which had the best chance for sustained rally after the break-out event. Event-trading is useful because it is real-time, gives definite signals, and affords minimal lag in response time. This book should prove to be of great utility to someone who wants to learn to trade or to improve his or her trading skills.

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Wall Street: The Other Las Vegas
Nicholas Darvas
Manufacturer: Ace Publishing Corp.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Wall Street : The Other Las Vegas
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Manufacturer: Kensington Publishing Corporation
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Wall Street : The Other Las Vegas
Nicolas Darvas
Manufacturer: Kensington Publishing Corporation
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Book Description

This workbook is a collection of short stories and word games designed to create a bond between a male child and the guardian in his life. The boy will be more receptive to his guardian's opinions and ideas because there will be an exchange, not just someone dictating and him listening. There will be a conversation where he can talk about his feelings and opinions. There is not doubt in my mind that the relationship between the boy and his guardian will be greatly improved by this workbook. His guardian will know him much better and the boy will understand how his guardian expects him to lead his life. This is a unique way to get a boy to express his unique thoughts and opinions, while at the same time he will listen and understand his guardian's opinions and moral values. This workbook will generate true conversations between young boys and their guardians. They are about situations that happen to boys from a male perspective. These are true stories, some of them happened to the author directly, and some happened to friends or other boys he knew while growing up. Having grown up without a father the author wanted to provide a way to bring up sensitive issues to a young boy. This is for anyone caring for a boy; single mother, father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, older sister, brother, cousin, stepfather or good friend. The situations described in these stories have happened to most every male at some time before he reached the age of 25. This workbook is a way to help prepare young boys, for events that will more than likely happen to him in life. As a father, the author knows how difficult it is to bring up certain issues to a child. You want to protect your son and not expose them to the bad things in life. The truth is, there is no way to keep them away from the unpleasant things in life, and you would only delay the inevitable. They will be exposed to the unspeakable and the only way to help them is to talk about it. If they have had an experience

A Boy's Workbook of Life-Edited for Language: Real Life Stories and Other Stuff For Boys, 10 to 16 years old and Their Guardians

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A Boy's Workbook of Life-Edited for Language: Real Life Stories and Other Stuff For Boys, 10 to 16 years old and Their Guardians
Jon Johnson
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1425936881

Book Description

ABOUT THE BOOK This workbook is a collection of short stories and word games designed to create a bond between a male child and the guardian in his life. The boy will be more receptive to his guardian's opinions and ideas because there will be an exchange, not just someone dictating and him listening. There will be a conversation where he can talk about his feelings and opinions. There is not doubt in my mind that the relationship between the boy and his guardian will be greatly improved by this workbook. His guardian will know him much better and the boy will understand how his guardian expects him to lead his life. This is a unique way to get a boy to express his unique thoughts and opinions, while at the same time he will listen and understand his guardian's opinions and moral values. This workbook will generate true conversations between young boys and their guardians. They are about situations that happen to boys from a male perspective. These are true stories, some of them happened to the author directly, and some happened to friends or other boys he knew while growing up. Having grown up without a father the author wanted to provide a way to bring up sensitive issues to a young boy. This is for anyone caring for a boy; single mother, father, grandmother, aunt, uncle, older sister, brother, cousin, stepfather or good friend. The situations described in these stories have happened to most every male at some time before he reached the age of 25. This workbook is a way to help prepare young boys, for events that will more than likely happen to him in life. As a father, the author knows how difficult it is to bring up certain issues to a child. You want to protect your son and not expose them to the bad things in life. The truth is, there is no way to keep them away from the unpleasant things in life, and you would only delay the inevitable. They will be exposed to the unspeakable and the only way to help them is to talk about it. If they have

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